My Top 5 ... Ahjussi Actors

There is so many Top 5 posts I want to do, I'm about to go crazy. In fact, there's probably an infinite amount of Top 5 lists out there. Delete the probably: there IS an infinite amount of Top 5 lists out there.

Next up: Ahjussis. Would I watch a drama just for them? Yes, I definitely would! I'm going to use the word stellar a lot for what follows, because they do stellar things, these men.

No 1: Lee Won-jong, for being in quasi every drama I ever liked or semi-liked or potentially liked or probably will like in the future: Iljimae, Partner (semi-liked and semi-watched), Chuno, A Man Called God, Sungkyunkwan Scandal, Scent of a Woman (semi-liked), Warrior Baek Dong Soo, Vampire Prosecutor 1 and 2, Wild Romance (semi-liked), The Equator Man (which I theoretically like, but haven't watched). Don't know how he does it. Are there Lee Won-jong clones? Can I have one? He plays the funny well, the meanie well, the sleazy well, and he is so adorable in 'real life' (or however close an appearance in a variety show comes to real life, see Episode 219 of "Happy Together").
No 2: Kim Sang-ho, for his role as curly Ahjussi in City Hunter, but also for a stellar performance in Ten as surly Detective or as Chief Prosecutor in Prosecutor Princess. He gets second place because he is in less dramas that I liked but he still is in many dramas that I liked. City Hunter wouldn't have been the same without him, he gave this potentially super-dark show a warm touch and a comfortable center, a home for our troubled hero to return to. Yes, he was the good soul of the show.
No 3: Choi Min-su (a Sandglass Legend) and Jeon Kwang-leol, for their stellar performance in Warrior Beak Dong Soo. I haven't seen them in anything else, really (apart from CMS's short appearance in Faith), but this performance is sufficient. Often, I liked them better than their younger counterparts/pupils, because they were able to give these characters so much depth, and so much more tragedy. But I also loved how this show made the young warrior-'brothers' an echo of their relationship: Brothers and nemesis at the same time, the one light, the other dark - fighting on the side of good and the other on the side of evil, but only divided by a thin, though decisive line. Ah, this makes me want to re-watch WBDS right away.
No 4: Kim Sang-joong, for his performance in City Hunter and from what I hear in The Chaser, which I haven't yet seen but plan to watch eventually, and if it's in my next life. I realize this is the second ahjussi Top 5 listing out of City Hunter. And Bam! Here's an opportunity to slip in Lee Min-hoo. He is such a pleasure to look at, but the main reason is that the City Hunter poster above is so finely done, with this huge, looming shadow of a father-figure. And Kim Sang-joong is simply awesome as a seemingly heartless, but always caring 'father', hellbent on revenge.  
No 5: Kim Yeong-cheol, for his performances in The Princess' Man, IRIS, and Nice Guy. I can't say I like him much, but that's probably the result of the characters he plays ... god, they're hateful. And god, he plays them well ... He can smile so nicely and then put a dagger into somebody's back the next minute. He is also going to be in IRIS 2, which means that I'll probably watch it. I think he has also played nice roles, but I doubt that I could ever trust him.

Who didn't (quite) make it  

Park Joon-gyu doesn't make it on the list despite his current role in Arang and his past role in Warrior Baek Dong Soo, because the list is full. Sorry. The same goes for Sung Dong-il, who was one of the best things about Fugitive: Plan B and also not bad in Chuno. Heis going to be in the upcoming Jeon Woo-Chi, which is on my must-watch-list, so he might make an appearance on this blog again in the near future. 

Cheon Ho-jin doesn't make it because I already have two City Hunter people on the list and I haven't seen some of the classics he's been in like The Snow Queen or Will It Snow For Christmas? and Snow, Snow, Snoweddy Snow (yeah, I made that up). Still, I recognize his face and really appreciate an actor who was in a movie called " Vampire Cop Ricky".

Lee Jae-yong doesn't make it because he truly scares me (good actor, though). One of the better things about Romance Town (the drama with the worst/least fitting title ever). Ahn Seok-hwan doesn't make it, because he more often annoys than entertains me. He might actually be a contender for the 'My 5 Worst ... Ahjussi Actors'. That's a set of lists I'll start when I've finished the infinite number of My Top 5 lists. He doesn't even get a picture here.

Park Yeong-gyu doesn't make it because he always hits his (drama) sons, which is not a nice thing to do. Otherwise, he is a good actor. 

Jang Dong-gun doesn't make it because he probably doesn't go under Ahjussi actor quite yet, certainly not after his performance in A Gentleman's Dignity. Ahjussi and this kind of immaturity doesn't go well together. And can ahjussi actors actually still be leads?

Anyways, I realize at this moment that I probably should have defined what an ahjussi actor actually is ... but too late!, the post is written, and ... over.